Teacher's Pet
by theupsidedownquibbler
Summary: Avery Longbottom is the first ever student teacher to grace the halls of Hogwarts. Unfortunately for her, her best mate's little brother is her student.
1. Chapter 1

My Seventh Years

Secretly, I am an extremely angry and hateful person. I know it's really not nice to think that way, but I'm sick and tired of everyone thinking I'm this sweet girl who never has a bad thing to say about anyone. It's a lie. I have bad things to say about people all the time, especially right now. Professor Flitwick is addressing our Seventh Year Charms class whilst Potter keeps winking at me in a disgusting way. I'm absolutely positive the grimace on my face is unattractive because other students in the class have been giving me strange looks. It's not my fault though, that I've had to deal with Potter all my life! Damn family obligations! Well, and I guess the whole his brother is my best mate thing. I swear it's still not my fault!

"Now class," Flitwick continued, "As most of you have probably gathered, Ms. Longbottom is here as a Student Teacher in intensive training as I am due to retire next year. You are lucky to be having her teach you because in my opinion, she is the brightest Charms student I have ever had the pleasure of teaching. She reminds me of a young me!" Flitwick exclaims in his high pitched voice.

Before he can finish, a muffled shout comes from the back of the room, "Yeah, she's just as short!"

Flitwick doesn't seem to notice this outburst as he continues on with his speech, but I can distinctly see Potter high five his Charms partner and best friend, Jonathan Wood. I want to rip Potter's eyeballs out because I know he made a short joke on purpose. I can only assume how red my face is, let alone ignore my audible seething. This is what I mean about being hateful, but I can't help it when he is around. He just pushes my buttons, and it annoys me even more that he isn't even listening to what Flitwick is saying! He is just staring at me. What a creeper. Then again, I've stopped listening to Flitwick.

I tune back in just in time to hear Flitwick's finale, "Here at Hogwarts, we have never really had student teachers, but I believe, since Ms. Longbottom is so young, that this will be a good experience for her, and for you, her students. I have decided that the best way for her to gain the experience she will need is to completely take over this class," I looked at Flitwick in shock. Isn't he supposed to tell me these things ahead of time and not just decide spur of the moment?

"Seventh Year Charms covers all of the basics, as well as delving into NEWT level magic. She will be getting the full teaching experience. Now I would like all of you to behave respectfully. I am no longer your Professor, just merely an observer in this class. Ms. Longbottom?" Flitwick squeaks at me and then smiles while taking in my shocked face. As we walk past each other to switch positions he pats me on the arm and whispers, "Give 'em hell."

I don't know what's more shocking: knowing that this is my class, or that my favourite Professor of seven years just swore. It's unimportant though at this moment because I can see Albus laughing at me and how unprepared I am. I want to wipe that stupid look off his face, so I smile, widely and confidently.

"Well, I suppose I'll be your Professor this year," I start, only to hear sniggers and have half of the class start talking amongst themselves as if I don't deserve their attention, "I think that we should start working through the basics and make our way up to NEWT level Charms," some of the students looked up from their conversations shocked that I was continuing on without everyone's attention.

Because this was a Seventh Year class, there were representations from all four houses. The Ravenclaws looked murderously at the conversing students while frantically taking notes, the Hufflepuffs were respectively listening, while the Slytherins and Gryffindors talked loudly(not to each other of course).

"There will be seven units," I explained, continuing through my spiel, "And no, you don't have to show up to class, and you don't have to listen, but if you do, you will benefit greatly. I ask that on all assignments you write your name on the back of the final page so that the mark is decided before I know who it belongs to. This way you can be sure that I will not mark in a biased way." The talking had lessened now, and most of the students were taking notes, or at least listening to what I was saying. All except for Potter and Wood. They would realize their mistake soon enough.

"Now, think back to your first year. Today, and only today, is your chance to ask me to go over any spell you ever had difficulty with in first year. I will write each spell down and build my Unit around that list." I said. Flitwick looked impressed by the plan I had devised as the students shyly looked down at their papers.

"Don't be embarrassed!" I cried to the class, "If you don't tell me the spells, I will move on and you'll have lost your opportunity to get extra help." A hand raised at the back of the classroom.

"Ah, Mr. Potter, finally decided to join the rest of the class? Although I'm sure your personal conversation with Mr. Wood was invigorating, it is nice to see you both paying attention." Potter at least had the decency to look ashamed.

"I just wanted to tell you a spell to write down on your list," he said quietly.

"And?" All right. Maybe now I was mocking him a little bit, but he made me feel stupid all of the time. He deserved this, right?

"The levitating spell, uhm. Wingar-" and then he started coughing. What a fake. As if he didn't know how to say Wingardium Leviosa. It was ridiculous how he was taunting me.

"Wingardium Leviosa?" I asked.

"Yeah, that's the one!" He smiled at me.

"Okay, I'll write it down on the list," I replied and grabbed my quill and scratched the word "levitation" onto a scrap of parchment, "Anyone else?" Four or five hands rose this time, and one by one I wrote down the charm that they wanted to review.

"All right, this is a pretty good list of stuff to review this unit!" I said happily, feeling as if my class time had been a success, "We're just about out of time, so I'll let you go a little bit early and next class come prepared with your wands out!" As my students (my students!) slowly shuffled out of the room I couldn't help but look over to Flitwick to see what he had thought of how I had run the class. Unfortunately, he was fast asleep in his chair in the corner. I would just bother him later about it.

"I did it for you, you know?" A familiar voice said behind me. I whipped around only to see Potter had walked up to the front of the room, and excluding Flitwick I was all alone with him. Blast.

"And what did you do, Mr. Potter?" I asked.

"Why do you call me that? You're like a part of my family, and you always address me so coldly!" He accused.

"I am your teacher, Mr. Potter, and I was unaware that you ever considered me anything more than an inconvenience in your life. So excuse me for not thinking of you as family." I replied.

Albus had the decency to look hurt, "You know Avery, you really can be a bitch sometimes."

"Excuse me! You sit in the back of my classroom and talk to your friend, making my job difficult! Let alone all of the times you've gone and mucked up my life!" I almost yelled, before realizing he was my student and I was not acting professionally at all.

My almost yell had obviously stirred something in Albus, "Aves, I just lied and said I couldn't do a simple levitation spell so that the rest of the class would fess up and you wouldn't be standing up there like a twat!"

"Oh whatever Albus! They would have said the spells they were unsure of eventually!"

"Why do you hate me so much?" He inquired in a voice much smaller than usual.

"I don't hate you Albus! Hate would imply that I have feelings for you. I want to assure you that is certainly not the case. I simply feel indifference towards you," I finished proudly.

"You've got to be kidding me Avery?" Albus said looking more hurt than ever.

I gave him a triumphant look and said, "I am your teacher Mr. Potter, and just because you know me outside of school does not mean you can call me by my first name. You are my student, and to you I am Ms. Longbottom, yeah?"

"Answer me Aves?" he seemingly begged, ignoring my previous comment.

"Do you have a question about Charms, Mr. Potter?" I asked sweetly, "Because that is all you could possibly have to discuss with me." I know I was being downright horrible, and at the moment Albus was being kind of sweet, but please take into consideration all of the times he had been horrid to me- meaning about 99% of the time. This actually may have been the only time Albus ever tried to say or do something nice and now I'm supposed to believe he's being sincere after the years of mockery, and hell, all the duelling and violence.

"At least if you hated me, you would feel something," Albus mumbled as he turned around and started towards the door. Now I kind of felt bad. God, I hate my guilty conscience!

"Hey Al," I started, "I didn't mean what I said, I'm just stressed and scared about my new job. I just wish you would at least try to pay attention when I'm teaching. It's really discouraging having you talk to Wood the way you do."

He turned around and looked at me sadly, "I know you meant it Aves. I've kind of been a prat. It's okay if you don't feel anything towards me. I deserve it."

"No! Al, you're like a little brother to me!" The annoying little brother who I wanted to die every other second, but little brother nonetheless.

"You know Avery, that is possibly the worst thing you could have said to me," Al finished and smirked up at me. I gave him a weird look as he turned around and finally walked out of the room.

What the hell did that mean? I'd never lost my cool with Al before, so I had never experienced this weird offended Al. How was it that the only nice thing I had said in that entire exchange was the worst thing I could have said? I needed to talk to James, immediately. He would understand his brother's cryptic actions.

**A/N: Please, please, please let me know what you think in a review! It would mean a lot to me!**

**Nikki**


	2. Chapter 2

Play

James and I were supposed to move into a flat together after we left Hogwarts. That plan was well under way, until we realized Mum and Ginny had already started preparing our wedding. The two of them just couldn't see us as friends and so James had ended up in the stylish two bedroom flat we had put the down payment on, and I had stayed at home, living in my childhood room. I'm still not sure how he managed to convince me that he should get the flat. I had; however, gotten my own key and it was with said key that I found myself sitting on James' couch waiting for him to return home from Quidditch practice.

Looking around the flat I realized: James was a slob. A copy of the mornings Daily Prophet was sitting on the coffee table in front of me so I picked it up to keep myself preoccupied. I really hated waiting for James. I stared absentmindedly at the front page which displayed a moving photograph of Minister of Magic, Kingsley Shacklebolt shaking hands with a young looking wizard. No doubt he was important, but I couldn't be bothered to keep up with current events, although, he was good looking—for a guy portrayed by a black and white photograph in the Prophet.

"Starring at Mr. Golightly, I see?" A voice said from behind me. Standing behind the couch, raising his eyebrows and smirking stood James.

"Mr. Who?" I asked looking up at him confusedly. James leaned over me and pointed to the caption on the picture I had been looking at which read: Minister of Magic congratulates Eric Golightly on his recent discovery, "James, you know I rarely read, I just like to look at the pretty pictures!"

"He isn't that good looking," James said with a scowl on his face.

"Don't be in a strop, James! Merlin! I can't even be attracted to some famous wizard whom I will never meet without you getting all huffy about it!" I said in a mock-offended voice.

"Of course you can't!" He responded, "Anyways, why are you here?" He asked.

"I missed you too!" I feigned.

"Stuff it."

"Okay, so basically—and you can't get mad at me—I kind of snapped at Albus today…" I trailed off and James sighed and sat down next to me bringing with him an interesting aroma, "Jeez James, do you not shower after practice!" I nearly gagged.

James ignored my comment on his stench and moved closer to me smirking. Prat.

"What ever happened to all that crap about 'not wasting your time giving him attention', or whatever it was you preached the other day?" He asked.

"It was so hard!" I whined, gaining me a skeptical look, "Okay, I'll stop."

"Aves, explain what happened?" He asked, and so I did. I told him about the fight Albus and I had gotten into and how when I tried to be nice, Al had seemed even more hurt.

"You're his brother. What does all of that mean? I'm so confused and I haven't been able to get the entire day out of my head!"

James had listened patiently through all of my whining and had nodded in all the right places, but now he seemed to be considering what he was about to say. Finally he spoke, "I have an inkling of an idea what's going on, and I'm not pleased about it. Let me talk to him, okay?"

"But—why can't you just tell me!"

"I need to talk to my brother," He said, his tone authoritative.

"Honestly James! Some kind of best mate you are!" I cried, getting up from the couch and stalking towards the door.

"Aves!" He called, "Wait!"

"What?" I answered clicking my tongue impatiently.

"My brother is a prat, Avery. Honestly, you would think for one second he could think about someone else. You have always been nice to him, you have never snapped at him before—even when he's deserved it, and you never even got mad at him even after he wrecked Liz's wedding. By the way, I kicked his arse for that a couple weeks back. I even gave him a bloody nose. Mum was so pissed at what he had done, she didn't even listen when he tried to tell her what happened, and I swear she smiled at me later."

I give James a sad smile and he pulls me into a hug. Liz's wedding was still a sore subject to talk about. It had only been a month, after all. I think if Dad wasn't so hung up on academic integrity, he'd fail Albus Potter. I would fail him too, if it didn't make me feel so guilty. Liz was the best big sister ever, and Albus had ruined her special day.

"You want to know the best thing about teaching at Hogwarts?" I ask him, trying to change the subject.

"What?"

"After everything that happens in a day—all the teasing, drama, and ignorance, you can leave and come to your best mates house where he can rant about what an arse his brother is," I smiled up at him and he returned it with a big grin, "Lily was good though, she's got quite the knack for Charms. If she keeps up at the level she is, she'll get an "E" on her Charms OWL at the very least. "

"You have such a great heart," James responded thoughtfully, "Even after Albus was a total arse, you just let it go and talk about how smart Lils is. Now come on, let's go tell Mum about it and I'm sure she'll send him a Howler."

As we walk over to the fireplace in the spacious flat to Floo to James' childhood home, I can't help but disagree with what James has just said. I didn't mention Lily's grades to spare Albus James' wrath, I did it to change the subject. The mention of the wedding, and the anger I had felt after class earlier that day was threatening to break forth from my collected self. I smile at James to convince him that there is nothing wrong, but he doesn't look assured.

We've been best mates since third year. We were both sorted into Gryffindor, but we didn't bond the first two years because he thought I had cooties (I know, really mature). In third year though, James asked me to be his girlfriend and after the awkwardness of the first time we held hands we decided it would be best if we were just friends. This had not boded well for James because any potential girlfriend he ever had would demand he stop being my friend, and that just wasn't an option for him. I know, I'm awesome, who could ever not be my friend?

Then again, I could count my romantic relationships on one hand (and it didn't take all five fingers to do so).

It isn't that James' not good looking; he is tall, dark, and handsome and he's a professional Quidditch player to boot. I know, why aren't I dating him? Well, it's simple—we're like family, and to be honest I feel like I fit in more at his place then my own. My dad is obsessed with plants, my mom is a bustling house wife, and now, so is my sister. At James' place everyone plays Quidditch and Lily always calls me the "big sister she never had". Ginny and Harry always ask me to dinner and well, Albus always ruins it. I think their family would be perfect if he wasn't around, and James definitely agrees. I just try to ignore his existence and it seems like he uses this as an excuse to behave even more outrageously.

"Aves?" James asks as I stumble out of the Potter's fireplace seemingly lost in my thoughts.

"Yes James?" I question.

"You would tell me if something was bothering you right? It's just you never seem to get mad at anyone, even when they deserve it."

"Honestly James, I don't want to waste my days away being angry at people. Yes, your brother has done and said a lot of things that have upset me, but why should I give him the satisfaction of getting a rise out of me. He doesn't deserve my attention, so why should I give it to him?" I tell James matter-of-factly.

"Wow, Aves—becoming a Professor has really made you wise. Maybe you'll grow a beard like Dumbledore."

"And becoming a Quidditch star has really made you a prat," James gave me a mock hurt expression as I turned to him giving him a thoughtful look, "No, I'm wrong. You were always a prat." James smacks me upside the head just as we enter the kitchen where Ginny is busily cooking dinner.

"James, if you smack her again, you're grounded!" Ginny shouted whilst walking towards me and giving me a hug.

"But Mum! I don't even live here anymore!" James whined, but stopped after receiving a death glare from his mother.

"So Avery! How was your first day, was it strange working at the school with your father. Were my children respectful?" Ginny interrogated excitedly.

"Everything was fine! My Dad was so proud of me, and Lily is great at Charms. You should be really proud!" I said smiling at my honourary Mum. James mumbled something beside me.

"Oh James, just spit it out," Ginny said, her face growing red with impatience.

"Albus disrupted her class and tried to make her look bad in front of Flitwick!" James yelled in one quick breath. I glared at him, "Jeez, Aves. Your glare is as scary as Mum's."

Ginny looked like she was about to explode with fury, "He did what!" She demanded.

"Honestly Ginny, don't worry about it. It wasn't a big deal at all. He made a joke at my expense, but I've already dealt with it. Plus, I think he was just trying to look cool in front of his friends," I replied, glaring at James again who mouthed "liar" at me.

"Well, if you're sure. But please Avery, if he is acting out in class you can owl me, or just come over and let me know. You're a teacher now, it's kind of your job," Ginny smiled at me sympathetically.

Harry walked in at that moment, "Hey! No one told me shorty was going to be here!" He smiled as he gave his wife a peck on the cheek. I scowled at his blatant diss of my height. I wasn't that short. I was just under five foot. Only just. I thought it made me look cute, but everyone in the Potter family loved to joke about it. Easy for them to say, they were all giants, "How was your first day?" He asked, and I groaned as Ginny started to rant.

"Your son is an abomination, and I blame you! You know, he tried to ruin Avery's first class! You need to talk to him!" Ginny gave him an expectant look.

Harry looked at his wife's reserve, sighed and started to walk in the direction of his study, "I'll just go owl him then." Ginny smiled to herself.

"See?" She turned to me, "It's all taken care of, and if he does it again, I'll be the one owling him, and it won't be pleasant." The menacing look she wore reassured me to never be on her bad side.

"Thanks Ginny," I smiled trying to hide my fear, "I'm just going to go talk to Harry quickly." With that I followed the direction that he had left just a minute previous to his study. When I reached the closed Oak door, I knocked.

"Come in," a voice called. I opened the door and Harry was sitting, quill in hand about to write on a blank piece of parchment.

"I'm glad I caught you," I smiled.

"And why is that?"

"I wanted to ask if you wouldn't mention any of what happened in your letter. I don't want Albus to get in trouble. Really, it'll only make things worse if he thinks I'm telling on him and it's not like he was being insufferable," I lied, "he—he was just being a trouble maker and I'm not bothered by it." Harry looked at me sceptically, "I promise. Everything is fine."

"Avery, you're like my own daughter. I just want you to know that I'm here for you, and I know Albus has never made it easy for you to be around here. If he's making your _job_ any harder, this is the least I can do," he nodded to the quill in his hand.

"It's not necessary. I swear," I gave him what I hope was a meaningful look and he smiled at me.

"Let's go get some dinner, yeah?"


End file.
